DEAR ABBY: I moved to Florida six years ago and got involved with a man soon after I arrived. He had just ended a 10-year relationship with his girlfriend. Two years later, he asked me to marry him. I was overjoyed -- and I was three months pregnant when I walked down the aisle.
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When our daughter was barely 6 months old, I caught my husband having an affair with his ex. I was going to leave him, but I discovered I was pregnant with our son. He would leave for weekends, after fighting with me and getting drunk, to go see his former girlfriend. I finally had enough and filed for divorce.
My daughter is now 2 1/2 and my son is 15 months old. They haven't seen their father in almost three months. We all miss him. I thought he would return to me, but he hasn't. He has moved on.
I'm in my 20s with two kids. I hate being alone, but can't move on because my husband refuses to sign the divorce papers. What should I do? -- SAD AND ALONE IN FLORIDA
DEAR SAD AND ALONE: My legal experts tell me there is a procedure you can go through that will allow you to divorce your husband even though he refuses to sign the papers. Please discuss it with a lawyer.
Also check with the district attorney's office in your community. The staff there may be able to help you get child support, at no cost to you. Sometimes when spouses are forced to pay child support, they develop an interest in their children. As long as your husband is sober and behaving responsibly, this should be encouraged.